Main characteristics of the adult education and training system

In recent decades, Portugal has made a significant effort to improve the qualifications of its population, thus addressing a historical weakness in this area.

Although some progress has been made, qualifications remain far below the levels of more developed countries, hampering development in an increasingly knowledge-based global economy.

Innovative solutions became necessary regarding objectives, organisation and methods used to overcome difficulties and achieve rapid and sustained improvements to the population’s skills and qualifications.

The National Qualification System (Sistema Nacional de Qualificações – SNQ) aims to promote widespread completion of upper secondary education as the population's minimum qualification. It also deals with the mechanisms necessary for its implementation, in coordination with the appropriate financial instruments, the National Strategic Reference Framework 2014-2020 in particular.

Improving the workforce's basic education and training must also generate the necessary competences for personal development and modernisation of enterprises and the economy, as well as facilitating citizens’ academic and vocational achievement.

On the grounds of social justice and development imperatives, these objectives apply to both young people and adults, as something that promotes new qualification opportunities for the unemployed and people already in the employment market, specifically those disadvantaged by leaving school early or dropping out.

The SNQ adopts the principles established in the agreement with the social partners, restructuring vocational training within the education and training system in coordination with the job market, integrating them with common objectives and tools and placing them within a revised institutional framework.

Taking a retrospective approach, the main aim of the New Opportunities Initiative presented in late 2005, was to overcome the structural deficit in qualifications by making general schooling available to the population.

The idea was to establish upper secondary school education as the base qualification level to participate in the knowledge-based economy and information society, as well as a determining factor in the economy’s growth and competitive capacity. This would lead to improvements and growth in employment, improve social cohesion and citizenship, as well as having an influence on all fields of development in terms of people and society.

The strategy defined covers four areas:

1. increasing the number of vacancies in increasingly more diverse dual certification courses, improving clarification of qualification provision, broadening the promotors’ network and profile, refining certification procedures including the processes involving the validation and certification of competences, reviewing funding criteria and coordination of the education and training systems.
2. stimulating demand and mobilising the population, making them aware of the aims of qualification and designing suitable incentive systems, facilitating attendance of diverse education-training provision, mobilising all key public and private agents and improving the coordination between the supply of and demand for qualifications.
3. speeding up the rate of schooling accomplished to close the gap between European and Portuguese standards.
4. working with young people and adults at the same time as the demands of competitiveness and participation in a globalised economy and society mean adults of working age catching up with regard to qualifications, promoting the idea of “adults going back to basic qualifications” so that the foundations are laid and adults become involved in lifelong learning demanded by a fast-changing economy and society.

With regard to adults, there has been an emphasis on recognising, validating and certifying competences gained in formal, informal and non-formal contexts, as well as vocationally oriented education, creating conditions of access in both cases.

Likewise, an effort has been made to diversify and extend provision so, with the necessary adaptations, it covers the whole population with qualifications lower than upper secondary education. The aim is to “develop the ability to build individual learning pathways that value the acquisitions of each person, promoting flexible education models and giving greater relevance to training in a work context...”.

This development involved increasing adult education and training courses, (Cursos de educação e formação de adultos - Cursos EFA), extending the network of recognition, validation and certification of competences centres, later called New Opportunities Centres (Centros Novas Oportunidades - CNO), now Qualifica centres, designing a key competences reference framework for upper secondary adult education and training and the promotion of the integrated management of provision and the providers network.

Ordinance no. 135-A/2013, 28th March establishes Qualification and Vocational Education Centres (Centros para a Qualificação e o Ensino Profissional - CQEP) closing the CNO and beginning a procedure to set up structures responsible for the RVCC system. A total of 242 CQEPs were created throughout the country, maintaining the diversity of organising bodies that already existed at the CNOs. These centres consolidated the lifelong guidance component and guidance for young people, in addition to interventions with adults.

In 2016, the Qualifica Programme  made the CQEP defunct. This government programme was implemented for better adult qualifications, contributing significantly to improving the general population’s qualification levels and employability.

The Qualifica Programme is based on a qualification strategy that combines educational and training provision and various mechanisms that promote adult qualification, involving a broad network of operators.

This programme focusses on improving the Portuguese population’s qualifications, which continues to show a deficit, which affects the country’s development. According to PORDATA (2019), 47.8 % of the population (aged 25-64) possess qualifications lower than upper secondary education. The Qualifica Programme aims to bring Portugal more in line with the EU average in terms of lifelong learning, mobilising the adult population to improve qualifications.

One of the Government’s priorities is to revitalise adult education and training as a cornerstone of the qualifications system, ensuring the continuity of lifelong learning policies and permanent improvement of learning processes and outcomes.

This programme essentially seeks to achieve the following objectives:

• Increase the workforce’s qualifications and improve employability equipping them with skills that meet the needs of the job market.
• Significantly reduce literal and functional illiteracy rates, as well as combating semi-illiteracy.
• Improve the system with young adults investing more in education and training.
• Correct the country’s structural weakness in terms of schooling and bring it in line with European levels.
• Tailor provision and training network to the needs of the job market and the national and regional development model.

And by 2020, the programme established the following targets:

• 50% of the working age population completing upper secondary education.
• An adult participation rate in lifelong learning activities of 15%, reaching 25% by 2025.
• 40% of higher education graduates in the 30-34 age group.
• Extending the Qualifica Centres network.

The adult education and training provision also includes face-to-face and distance learning (ESRaD). Although targeted at adults, it is also accessible to young people between 16 and 18 who are working or at risk of dropping out of school:

• Recurrent education is designed for adults who have not completed this level of education at the normal age of schooling and is divided into four science-humanities courses: science and technology; socioeconomic sciences; languages and humanities; visual arts.
• Recurrent secondary distance education (ESRaD) is also aimed at adults who have not completed this level of education at normal school age, and is organised to allow any candidate, resident in Portugal or abroad, to access this training provision.

Statistics on adult education and training

The Qualifica centres and adult education and training

In 2016, when the Qualifica Centres were created, there were 261 centres and 303 in 2017. This number decreased in 2018 (296 centres) and in 2019 (294 centres), increasing again in 2020 (310 centres, until the end of September). In terms of registrations at the centres, in 2017 there were around 126,000 registrations. In 2018, this increased to approximately 158,000 and in 2019 there were more than 191,000, to mobilise adults to take advantage of qualification solutions available under the National Qualifications System.

In addition to recognising skills previously acquired by adults in formal, informal and non-formal learning, these centres also provide guidance and referral to other qualification solutions, such as adult education and training courses, certified modular training, upper secondary conclusion pathways, etc.

All these training types contribute to achieving goals recommended by the Qualifica program, focused on the work of Qualifica Centres, which are responsible for mobilising adults and helping them discover the different qualification options that exist.

Qualifica Centres Network, activity indicators from January 2017 to December 2021

The Qualifica Centres provide national coverage and are distributed by NUT III in the following way:

Distribution of the Qualifica Centre network by NUTS III in December 2021

Source: ANQEP, 31st December 2021

Certifications

The following table shows the total number of certifications by qualification level (school, vocational and dual) obtained by adults, as a result of Qualifica Centres, from January 2017 to December 2021

Number of total certifications by qualification level (academic/vocational/dual), January 2017 to December 2021

Source: ANQEP and SIGO, 31st December 2021

This table shows that, from 2017 to December 2021, there were more school certifications than vocational and dual certification, which must be related to the structural qualification deficit due to early school leaving for adult age groups. It also shows a greater number of upper secondary level certifications, not only at the level of RVCC processes but also other training solutions, such as EFA courses.

It is also important to demonstrate how certifications have changed over the years. In the following table we can see this in terms of total as well as partial certifications, as not all adults acquire them, as a result of RVCC processes or qualification options resulting from referrals made by Qualifica Centres, a certification total. Partial certifications require additional training to obtain a certain level of qualification.

Change in the number of certifications (parcial and total) from January 2017 to December 2021

Source: ANQEP and SIGO, 31st December 2021

Obs.: In 2017, there was no data from certifications in other qualification options (EFA, FMC, CTC and DL 357/2007 courses), resulting from Qualifica Centre referrals. In 2018, 2019 and 2020 all certifications, total and partial, resulting from referrals from Qualifying Centres obtained through the RVCC process, EFA Courses, DL 357/2007, CTC and FMC are included.